China registers best-ever quarter for air passenger numbers

(Sharecast News) - The number of air travellers in China surged to above pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Tuesday. Passenger traffic reached a record quarterly high of nearly 180m over the first three months of the year, up 38% on a year earlier and 10% higher than the first quarter of 2019.

Some 160m people travelled domestically, which was 14% higher than Q119, though passengers on international routes are still just 78% of levels seen five years ago at just 14.1m.

The numbers were bolstered by a strong Lunar New Year for travel, with 83.5m passengers flying by air in the February holiday - up 51% year-on-year and 14.5% higher than Q119.

Even cargo transport had its best-ever quarter, with 2m tonnes of goods moved in the first quarter, up 34% on last year and 19.6% higher than Q119.